Fall is a time when pumpkin spice is everywhere and the flavors in vogue are apple, caramel, and cloves. But when it comes to fall cocktails, you can capture the spirit of the season without being entirely literal, and get creative with some lesser seen ingredients.
The cocktail menu from The Lounge at The Ritz-Carlton, San Francisco, shows ideas of what a fall drink can be beyond a pumpkin spice latte, making use of flavors that are seasonal but distinctive. The Lucky 8, shown above, is inspired by San Francisco’s Chinatown district and makes use of Asian ingredients like Baijiu, a popular style of Chinese liquor that’s something akin to gin. The category is wide and varied though, so different Baijius can have very different flavors. The drink includes gin as well, plus citrus juice and a syrup made with Chinese-style five spice and persimmon.
And for your spritz fans, there’s an autumnal take on a summery Aperol Spritz which adds apple cider, bourbon, and maple syrup to the traditional combination of white wine and soda water, creating a moody fall spritz that has the zingy freshness of a light sparkling beverage but with the cozy apple flavors of fall time.
There aren’t exact measurements so if you want to recreate these drinks you’ll need to do some experimenting, but they give inspiration for ways to use fall flavors in your home bar.
Lucky 8
Ingredients:
- Tanqueray Gin
- Ming River Sichuan Baijiu
- Fresh-pressed citrus
- Persimmon five-spice syrup
Harvest Spritz
Ingredients:
- Sauvignon Blanc
- Unfiltered apple cider
- House bourbon
- Touch of maple syrup
- Harvest fruits
- Soda water
